Kagame says comments by French president made him “sick”

Rwandaâ€™s President Paul Kagame has hit back at France President Francois Hollandâ€™s statement during the recent Francophonie Summit in Darkar, Senegal.

On November 30, speaking at the 15thbiennial summit of the International Organisation of Francophonie, Hollande lectured African leaders on democratic values and warned some not to seek power beyond constitutional term limits.

Hollandâ€™s statements, including threatening to support any African upraising, angered many African leaders, including President Kagame, who had not attended the event, but represented by Foreign Affairs Minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, who also snapped at Holland via press interviews shortly after the summit.

â€œSomething happened in a meeting I was supposed to attend, but I didnâ€™t attend, of people who speak the same language.â€ Kagame said, inferring to the Francophonie countries, of which Rwanda is a member.

He said â€˜one of the leadersâ€™ (Holland), â€œwas very scaving about majority of the African leaders there, wagging a finger at them, and so sadly, they were applauding.â€

Kagame who was addressing over 500 youths at a gala in Rwandaâ€™s capital Kigali, organised byÂ Imbuto Foundation Young Professionals Forum; a philanthropy run by the First Lady, Jeanette Kagame, said â€œI felt some sickness to my stomach.â€

Kagame wondered why Africans accept to be patronized. â€œHow can we be the people to have a finger wagged at us?â€¦think about it.â€

Joseph Rwagatare, a local political critic, toldÂ KTPressÂ that Kagame spoke for many Africans, and insinuated that if any African leader made similar remarks to Holland in a Western country, â€œYou would be run out of town right away.â€

Kagame took the advantage to criticize Africans for continued dependence on foreign aid. â€œItâ€™s absurd,â€ he said. â€œHow can we accept that our countrymenâ€¦live at the whims of others, not just once, but on a permanent basis?â€

He said the buzz word for Africa today is â€˜Africaâ€™s momentâ€™, but he wondered, â€œWhen was it not Africaâ€™s moment?â€, triggering applause from the hundreds of youths.Â â€œWe were just absent,â€ he said.

Kagame encouraged young Rwandans to work hard and seek self-reliance. â€œNo one else will do the hard work for you. Understand from the beginning that you are the one to carry this burden,â€ he said. â€œDo the hard work that needs to be done. You canâ€™t avoid it.â€

The First Lady asked youths to become professionals and ambassadors of change.

â€œWe need to cultivate the spirit of connecting, the good work we do at different levels, building confidence based on knowledge and sharing our knowledge with others,â€ she said.

Imbuto foundationÂ has in the past seven years, engaged youths in discussions that help them navigate pathways of life.

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, advised youth to seize opportunities and become entrepreneurial.